AG 1994 12 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Analysis Petition 94-07 Page ~ The business will be in full view of several adjoining residences. Landscaping requirements, including perimeter, interior, and parking will apply to this use. These requirements can be found in Chapter Nine of the County Zoning Ordinance. Issues Several issues were raised by the staffin review of this petition. The first being a transportation issue, the second being compatibility with the surrounding land uses and intent of the Midland Area Plan, and the third an issue of spot zoning. 1. Transportation: (Narrative based on attached statement from Sarah LaBelle, County Transportation Planner, and Alvin Hough, NCDOT) The surrounding roads are narrow 18'-20' wide, two-lane rural roads. In general, the topography is hilly which presents a sight distance problem with regards to curves and grades. There are a number of driveway cuts and private dead-end road outlets. The intersections near the site are the narrow two-lane into two-lane at fight angles with no rum lanes and poor sight triangles.. These are not adequate for trucks to negotiate without comprehensive restructuring both in terms of width and road bed base. There is a raised grade Norfolk Southern railroad crossing one quarter mile to the northeast which, according to the state DOT, will need to be leveled with the grade on Caharrus Station Road. Currently, the crossing poses existing traffic hazards for local residents and would be compounded by the large semi-truck and tractor traffic generated by the proposed land use. There are three one-lane bridges near enough to the site to be used on a daily basis by the large trucks trying to access Hwy. 24/27 and US 601. These are old, narrow bridges, some with poor sight distances coming onto and off of the bridge. The weight limits on the bridges would not accommodate the loaded tractor trailers. According to Robert Thompson and Alvin Hough of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, there is a safety problem with the Muddy Creek Bridge located approximately two hundred and fifty feet northeast of the sight on Cabarrus Station Road. (See the attached letter from Mr. Alvin Hough). This is a single span 16' wide bridge with posted limits. There is a weight limit of 8 tons for single vehicles and 11 tons (22,000 #) for tractor trailers. Tractor trailers average 12 to 15 tons when empty and can carry average loads of 20 to 25 tons. These weights exceed the posted limits for the primary access to Highway 24/27. The bridge is on the State Transportation Improvement Plan for replacement. Right of way is scheduled for 1999 and construction is scheduled to begin in the year 2000. The site is located one and a half miles southwest and five miles southeast of NC Hwy. 24/27 and three miles northwest of US 601. This could serve to impede local travel and compromise traffic safety. The trucks would cause a disruption of traffic flow. Sight triangle problems exist at US Hwy. 601 and Bethel Avenue Extension (which would move truck traffic to the south) as well as sight distance problems for residential traffic along the narrow, winding rural roads. 2. Land Use: From a land use standpoint, the intensity of this use would not be suitable or compatible with the rural/residential character of the adjacent properties. The Midland Area Plan designates this area for rural/residential use. Industrial and commercial uses have been focused along the major thoroughfares of US Hwy. 601 South and NC Hwy. 24/27. The proposed use and zoning request would not be consistent in any way with the intent of the Comprehensive Plan. As is evidenced during the heating in front of the Cabarrus County Planning and Zoning Commission, the residents in the area have a series of valid land use concerns. This more